The Dark Angel (Ruth Galloway Mysteries Book 10) (2018)

I liked the plot: an archaeologist prepares to dig up the skeleton of "Toni", but Toni has a cell and he gets a call from the skeleton while filming the t.v. episode on the explanation of Toni's history.

An earthquake unearths the skeleton of a man who was murdered during WWII and as the local priest knows the confession of the murderer, he is then murdered.

What I abhor is the main male character is is a right-out rotting wanker: DCI Nelson is married to (pregnant) Michelle and they have two daughters. DCI Nelson also has an on/off affair going with archeologist Ruth as well as a 6 year old daughter with her, whom he insists on having a relationship with.

Ruth walked away from Nelson, but they recently came back together; so, Michelle began an affair with Tim, a younger police office (whom they all know) and is most likely the father of Michelle's baby (stay tuned for up-coming revelations).

Without informing Nelson, Ruth & her daughter go to Italy in order to help with the excavation and evaluation of Toni. When Nelson finds out Ruth has gone he pitches a fit, because you know he is entitled to have two women under his thumb.

While in Italy, there is an earthquake; and DCI Nelson, without being asked jumps on a plane with the "Druid", Cathbad (another jerky-boy) and runs to Ruth's side using his worry about his daughter as an excuse.

Meanwhile, DCI Nelson's family is being watched by the guy who threatened Nelson after being arrested for burning down his own house, thus murdering his wife & 3 children in it.... Nelson knows this guy is dangerous & confronts the guy, but he still leaves Michelle behind.

The entire group: Ruth, Michelle, Nelson, Cathbad, Phil, Shona, & Cathbad's wife are just one big group of unhappy dysfunctional adults enabling each other's double-standards.

So this is it for me. In fact had I known it was a Nelson book before I'd gotten interested in Ruth's adventures in Italy, I'd have put it down. ( )

Another excellent book in the Ruth Galloway and Harry Nelson series. I have been binge reading the series, wanting to see what happens. Only have a couple more books to go and I will be up to date. That is a sad thought. ( )

Ruth and Kate go to Italy for a working holiday when an old flame of Ruth's asks her to consult on some bones found in a television archaeology programme he was filming.

The mystery takes second place to the characters' convoluted personal lives, but in the last third or so the author manages to build up a doom-laden atmosphere while keeping us in suspense as to which particular disaster is actually going to happen.

It is unfortunate that after an Author's Note explaining her use of BCE/CE rather than BC/AD, the author manages to get the Volscians'' struggle against the Romans in the wrong 5th century. ( )

This is one of my favorite of the series so far. It was nice to be in Italy for a change of scene. This is still just a fun series to follow, no great depth of character or plot, but I continue to find it totally enjoyable. ( )

Ruth Galloway,a forensic archaeologist,goes to Italy at the request of a Italian colleague (and a former one-night stand). Bones have been found at an excavation that raise a lot of(historical)questions. While Ruth stays in a medieval village in the Lazio region,she is confronted with the strange behaviour of certain characters and of course,murder.This is the 10th book in this series and as with all series,the quality is somewhat variable. The mystery of the Dark Angel feels like a frame story to the story of Ruth's relationship with the father of her daughter,a married D.I.,who's wife is pregnant but perhaps not by him(on/off,on/off, I want you,no,I don't....)Perhaps closure of this particularly relationship might be a good thing for both the characters and for the storyline. ( )